Ae Dil Hai Mushkil... where do I start? First of all there is disappointment. Not so much with the movie, because I expected very little from it, but with the four-star ratings given by NDTV and Times...

According to a recent report, something as trivial as the colour of shoes being worn by a candidate can result in them being refused an investment banking job in London. In addition to the shoes a person is wearing, their clothing, accent, and mannerisms are also major factors in determining whether they get accepted.

It is important to remember that this ban isn't directed at women. It is actually meant to strike a blow at the patriarchal oppression of women. France wants no part in this systematic inequality and is also wary of the influence that these orthodox attitudes can have in pushing their own society back in time.

The biggest challenge that India must overcome is its own bureaucracy and sports administration. Much of the good work gets undone by a combination of ineptitude and apathy on the part of the officials entrusted with growing sports in the country. Many officials run the sports bodies like their personal fiefdom, sacrificing players' careers and interests at the altar of their own egos.

While internationally India talks and acts peace in accordance with its traditions and history, it is ironic that its citizens often do not extend each other the same courtesy. The use of violence to resolve an issue is never too distant from most spheres of everyday life.

Europe is rediscovering terror. Paris, Brussels, Nice, Cologne and Munich. In all of this, one discerns a faint sense of history repeating itself, but under a different sky. Think about this. You're back a thousand years or so in time, in India…

The United States has a long history of emphasizing the value of personal freedom, liberty, and equality. It has also positioned itself as the champion of these values globally. However, beneath this surface, there are fissures. As much as America espouses freedom and liberty, it also cannot deny the legacy of exploitation and avarice that forms the foundation on which the country was built.

While the easing of sanctions on Iran is welcome and will work towards its return into the mainstream, the country must also make an effort towards meaningful reform. The fears of "foreign influence" and "corruption of values" are unfounded when you have such a proud, strong and vibrant civilizational heritage.

An environment of fear already exists, but only for women. The imbalance and fear psychosis are so severe that vast swathes of our public spaces are out of bounds for women. If men begin to experience unpleasant consequences for their misogyny, they are likely to adopt self-restraint.

The Indian Premier League gets a lot of flak. Some say it is not real cricket, others say it's just a big carnival, an insult to the sport. There's just too much cricket these days they say. The purists lament that the IPL is killing test cricket. Then there are allegations (and some evidence too) of corruption. But the truth is that the IPL has been a great addition to India's landscape and has heralded the dawn of a new era.

Respect for mothers is an integral part of Indian culture. Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians and all other communities virtually venerate the mother. To portray the country as the mother is to assign it maternal attributes like affection, nurturing, and fertility, which are completely religion neutral. Most Indian Muslims see this rationale and therefore have never had a problem saying these words. Those who do object to it, either incorrectly interpret the meaning of the slogan, or are being misguided by those with vested interests.

The recently set up gay marriage bureau in India is therefore significant. It taps the latent demand that exists within the gay and lesbian community. Since they do not have the same access to the social networks of matchmaking aunties, they can rely upon the marriage bureau to help find their life partners.

Regardless of the historical factors that might have been responsible for the rise of a heavily patriarchal society, there is now a need to free womanhood from these shackles. It will take considerable effort across institutions and individuals to make that happen, and that too only when the State also plays its part and creates the right conditions for social reform to take root.

If politics is your real interest, which I suspect it is, then stop the pretence of being a student and join an organization like the INC, AAP or CPI(M) that will appreciate and nurture your ideas. As things stand, you're making a mockery of doctoral studies and you are actually perpetuating a big farce. Face the nation as a politician and don't hide behind the facade of being a student.

While most analysts may not have seen much to cheer at, when the individual pieces are taken together Budget 2016 tells a compelling story. With the limited options available to it, given upcoming state elections and pressure from the Opposition, the NDA government has presented a very solid, pragmatic, and far-sighted Budget, and not a series of ad-hoc and knee jerk reactions to pressures and temptation, as has often been the case.

There has been some angst, both in the West and in India, about Coldplay's latest, and very beautiful, video. The video is being criticized by some for "cultural misappropriation." In this whole contr...

The standard of sports in a country is a useful indicator to gauge its population's overall health, prosperity, and access to resources. Building a champion sportsperson requires talent to be nurtured with high-quality coaching, facilities and opportunities. Women also contribute to medal tallies and societies where women are empowered and free, naturally demonstrate superior sporting performance as well.

The <em>Independent</em>'s decision to revert to using Bombay had nothing to do with British colonialism. It was driven by its India-born editor's stand on the political issues prevailing in the country of his birth. This is a remarkable development. An individual has attempted to reverse a sequence of events that the British government did not interfere with! It is also interesting to note that Mr Rajan has chosen to remain silent about his city of birth, Calcutta, which was renamed Kolkata.

The Nirbhaya case was a pivotal moment in the continuing evolution of Indian society. The only positive thing that has come out of this tragedy is that sexual violence, which is actually a global issue, took centre stage in Indian public discourse.